Page 989 of One More Kiss

His Destined Mate

A Six Pack Shifters Short Story

Julie Trettel

Wyatt

“Still nothing?”Thomas asked.

“I can’t just pick when my wolf is going to make an appearance you asshole.”

In truth I didn’t really want my wolf to appear.

All through high school it had either been me and the Six Pack, which included me and my five best friends in the whole world: Thomas, Austin, Clay, James, and Emmett, or it had been me and Ashley paired up with Thomas and Sydney.

I’d honestly believed that Thomas and I would graduate, mate our girls, and work out on the ranch the rest of our lives. I had never considered that there could ever be anything more to life than that. Then Thomas and Sydney had their wolves come in and they aren’t true mates.

I didn’t think that should matter, but Thomas confessed to me that it mattered to him. That had gotten me thinking… what if Ashley wasn’t my true mate.

My chest physically hurt just thinking about that.

She had to be mine. I loved her and not just in the young first love kind of way. She was my everything. I couldn’t even imagine my life without her.

My friends couldn’t fully understand that, not even Thomas. I knew he loved Sydney, but not as all-consuming as I loved Ashley.

Graduation came and went and my wolf still hadn’t surfaced. All of the guys had gotten theirs, but not me.

Ashley had gone against our plan to mate right after high school, mainly because two wolf shifters couldn’t actually bond when only one of them had a wolf spirit.

I was stuck. Nineteen years old, working out on the range day in and day out. My life was at a standstill.

When I got home from work, I showered and then called Ashley. It rang a few times before rolling to voicemail. This was becoming a common thing. It had been getting harder and harder to reach her.

I threw the phone across the room in frustration.

A knock at my door had me growling.

“Sweetheart, you have some mail,” my mom said through the door. “It’s from Ashley.”

At the sound of her name I launched out of bed and ran for my door, flinging it open and snatching the envelope from my mom.

She smiled and looked a little relieved at my sudden mood change.

Any word from that girl lit up my world.

Mom shut the door to give me some privacy, but I was feeling quite anxious and started to pace. Instead of reading it immediately, I left the house and walked over to the river to sit on a large rock.

I took a moment to just take it all in. The sounds of the water soothed my soul, as did the incredible view of open fields with the sight of mountain peaks far off in the distance. This was home, the place I would finally bond with my mate, settle down, and have a mess of pups who would someday follow in my footsteps working Collier land just as my daddy had and my daddy’s daddy before him.

To some it might be a simple life, but to me, it was everything I’d ever wanted.

I opened the letter and laid back on the rock with a smile on my face.

Slowly that smile faded.

Dearest Wyatt,

I know this will come as a surprise to you, but it turns out we aren’t true mates after all. I’ve been ignoring your phone calls unsure of how exactly to tell you this. I’ve found my one true mate and although the love we shared was real, I am telling you that it pales in comparison.

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